Locking means for car doors



2 sheets-sheet 1 {vl/ENTo/es KENNETH -J 705m/ CHE/ E. EKL/ND K. J. TOBlN ET AL LOCKING MEANS FOR CAR DooRs Filed April 9, 1928 oct. 27, 1931.`

Oct. 27, 1931. K. J. ToBlN ET AL I LOCKING MEANS FOR CAR DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1928 Iliff/27, AC n 17N VENToe5- MENA/5TH J. Toa/N CR/@L E. EKL/ND TTM Patented 2'7", k1.9.31-

KENNETH JJroBINYAND om nnxriiNn-,o oHI'oAGo, yILLINOIS,isissIGfNoR 'ro caminanY 'I lomer COMPANY, A. oogaromirroir orrrLLiNois y f f LOCKING For. 1( :An'noons f applicati@ met Aprile "This invention relates to latching means for car doors and concerns itself primarily witha single swingable bar for simultaneously latching a pair of hinged doors to the top sand bottom of the car.

At the present time, a rotatable bar wltlra gooseneclr is used to latch doors of ,the type under consideration. Slide bolts are also used for such a purpose. It frequently Vhappens that the doors get outof alignment, duek to various causes, and that the upper or lower edges of the doors will not come to home po,- sition and will stick out one or more inches,

with the result that-'itis impossibleto readily latch the upper and lower edges of thedoors by the aforementioned gooseneckfrod or the sliding bolts. y

- This invention'V is designed to vovercome 'suchde'fects and', to this end, a swingable bar i 2o 4 engages flaring k,keepers uponV the upper and lowerends of the car, even-tho the doors vare not in closed position, and,^as the bar is swung under the flaring keepers, the'dooisj will be forced inwardly to a tight closing position. Further, the doors ofntheitypeabove Set forth usually have overlapping frontal margins. Consequently, as .the latching bar is swung under the flaring or wedge-shaped keepers, the doors are Abrought )snugly together at such'frontal margins.' Y

A further characteristic of this vinvention resides in a latching means for latchingl the f swingable bar which tends to swing ,n and maintain the swingable bar in firm relation with its keepers, thuswise taking up any lost motion or play; y The invention comprises the novel' structure and combination of parts' hereinafter described-and more particularly pointedout and defined in the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodimentof thisinvention and in whichsimilar referencenumerals refer to similar featuresfin the different views: f Figure 1 is an elevational view of the end of a car which is closed by a pair of swinging doors whichrare latched" nd securedlinA ac cordance with this invention.

reas, -s'eml l No. 268,463.

Figure 2 Vis an enlarged broken sectional viewitakenupon the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

= Figure 3 is an `enlarged sectional view takeniupon the line 3 3 of Figure 2, looking in thevdirectionof-the arrows.

A Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken` upon the line 4 4 of Figure 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure `5 isa fragmentary'enlarged elevationalaview illustrating the latching means for the swingable locking bar.

Figure' 6 is an enlarged broken sectional view taken uponthe line 6 6 of Figure 1.

tal marginslb and lo of these doors overlap In the drawings there is shown the end of as shown in Figure 6. These' doorsvmay be of anydesiredconstruction, as their particular constructionis immaterial, except insofar as the same may cooperate with this invention.

1 According to, this invention, a vertical latching bar 3 is pivoted intermediate its ends to the door l, the frontal margin of which 'overlaps the 'door la. While the particular manner of pivoting the bar to the door is immaterial, as amatter of illustration, the bar 3 is shown as provided with a projecting lug 4k,

(vvhichis pivoted to a casting 5 secured to the oor.

The central` portion of the latching bar 3 is preferably* in the form of an I-beam, as shown in Figure 6, while the terminals there- Vof' areformed'ofy castiingsoy and 7 bolted or rivetedthereto. f Itv will benoted that the free endsv of the. castings 6 and 7 arerestricted,

for the purpose of passing under keepers 8 and 9, which are respectivelysecured to the 90 bottom and top of the car. Y Y

' Itwill be noted that these keepers have outwardly inclined or flaredY portions 8a and 9a respectively. and that the same are provided lwith, horizontally projecting lips V10, under which y.lips 11, on the castings Gand 7 are adaptedv to engage, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, whereby the upper and lower parts of the f 'car structure aretied to the Vlatchingbar 3 fes when Athe same is in itsA operative closed posi'- tion.` For example,k if the upper and lower the latching bar 3, suitable stop members 12' i may be secured upon the door 1 to which the bar is pivoted, as shown in Fi Vure l.

lWhen the latching bar 3 has en swung to its closed position, it is desirable that the same be latohed and sealed in such position.

For this reason, suitable latching meanshas been provided, and this latching means is designed to so cooperate with the latching bar as to tend to swing the same to closed position and maintain the same in such position. To this end, a suitable casting 13 is attached to the door 1a and a swingable latching element 14 is pivoted at one end to the casting 13. The free end of the latching element has an arcuate surface 15 which is struck from the pivotal axis 16 of the latching element, as shown more clearly in Figure 5. The latching element 1/1 has a depending lug 1 7 which is adapted to cooperate withv a lug 18 on the web of the I-beam 3.

The lugs 17 and 18 are suitably slotted for receiving a sealing ribbon, whereby the latching element 14 may be sealed with respect to the swingable bar 3. It will be noted that the latching element 14 rests upon the top of the lug 18 when the latching element 14 is in horizontal position. However, when the latching element 14 is swung downwardly, it may not at first reach the horizontal position and may be at an angle to the horizontal, due to the fact that theswingable latching bar has not been brought to true vertical position. Due to its weight, the latching element lll will tend to gravitate downwardly and thus tend to bring the latching bar 3 toits true vertical position and to bring theends thereof more firmly under the keepers 8 and 9. In other words, the latching element 14 automatically tends to swing and maintain the latching bar 3 intightly closed position, and this tendency will, of course, be present as long as the latching element 14 is above the true horizontal position and is not supported upon vthe lug 18.

From the foregoing, it will beapparent that a very simple latching mechanism has been provided' for simultaneously latching a pair of swinging doors in which the swingable latching bar aforedescribed is effective for forcing home either the upper or lower ends of the doors in case they should not be moved to such position when the doors are swung into their closed position and in which the latching bar 3 serves as a tie post.

It will be noted that the flaring or Wedging flanges 8a and 9a on the keepers are at a sufficient angle to allow the ends of the locking bars to swing thereunder, even if the upper and lower ends of the doors are not in closed position. The swingable locking bar 3, therefore also serves as an instrumentality for iol'elng the doorsinto closed position in the event that they do not come together for some reason.

It will also be appreciated that the locking element 14 automatically tends to right the locking` bei' 3 and maintain the same from swinging movements and in tight relation with itskeepers.

It will be further evident that the swingable locking bar 3 not only locks the doors t0 the upper .and lower ends of the cars but that it also maintains the overlapping frontal margins of the doors in tight and close engagement and that this position of the parts is maintained by the gravity-acting locking element 14,. t

We` are aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a widel range without departing from the principles of this invention, and we, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a house car having a pair of coopera tive swingable doors with overlapping frontal margins, a latching bar pivoted intermediate its ends to the overlapping door, a keeper above said doors havingr an outwardly flaring ange with an inwardly extending lip, and a keeper below said doors having an outward- Iy flarin yflange with an inwardly directed hp, said etching bar having terminals with outwardly directed lips for en aging under the lips upon said keepers, where y said latchin bar serves as a post for tieing the upper an lower arts of the car toofether.

2; In a. ouse car, the comtbination with a pair of swingable doorsl having overlapping frontal margins, a keeper above said doors, a keeper below said doors, said keepers having outwardly inclined flanges with overhanging lips, a Iatching bar pivoted intermediate its ends to the overlapping door and having terminals adaptedV or engaging the inclined flanges of said keepers for simultaneously movi the upper and lower parts of said doors inwardly, said terminals having lugs engaging under said lips, whereby said latch.g ing bar'serves as a post for said car.

3. In a house car, the combination with a pair of swingable doors vhaving overlapping rontal margins, a keeper above said doors, a keeper below said doors, a latching bar piv oted intermediate its end to one door and swingable under said keepers, and a latching elementpivoted to one door and having a beveled end for engaging said latching bar and a Vrest uponrsaid latching bar. for limit-` ing the downward swinging movement of said latching element. 4

In testimony whereof we have hereunto sub. scribed our names at Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

KENNETH J. TOBIN. CARL E. EKLIND. 

